Photos of space of the week: Scientists see red on Jupiter's spot

The red dot of Jupiter will be one of the first study points of the James Webb Space Telescope. This ambitious and complicated instrument is rather behind schedule and budget overruns (as reported in WIRED). But when it's okay, it'll be right in the middle of this gigantic storm. Scientists hope to learn why the red dot is actually red; they believe that the atmosphere of the gaseous giant contains molecular parts called chromophores that color its clouds. If astronomers will find them, they will determine whether they pierce the mystery of Jupiter's iconic place.

Feeling dizzy? The Juno spacecraft exceeds Jupiter by tens of thousands of kilometers at the time, but still manages to capture ridiculously detailed close-ups – like this photo of swirling and swirling storms. It is believed that white clouds are higher in the atmosphere, while darker regions live lower, closer to the planet.

Enceladus, the icy and aquatic moon of Saturn, has long intrigued scientists looking for life beyond the Earth. And now, it's the subject of some big news: An article published this week in the journal Nature indicates that the Cassini spacecraft has detected complex organic molecules in plumes emerging from the surface. Although far from a definitive discovery of life on Enceladus, this marks an important step for research on the habitable potential of the moon.

Can you spot the asteroids in this photo? You do not see any? Take a closer look: these white streaks that stretch out on this beautiful photo of the galaxy cluster Abell 370 are all asteroids. It turns out that they are not even close to Abell 370; these asteroids are closer to Earth, shooting an epic photobomb as the Hubble Space Telescope takes pictures. Rock on!

The Hubble Space Telescope often produces colorful composite images that look like glorious paintings, and this superb photo from the galaxy cluster Abell S0740 is a prime example. Abell S0740 lives more than 450 million light years from Earth – or maybe we should say lived? The light on this photo is so old that even our missing dinosaurs did not exist when it came into the universe.

Oh hi, all new Martian crater! NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveals evidence of a recent impact on our solar system neighbor over the past six years. (By the crater standards of Mars, it's new, some of the planet's brands have millions of years.) The surface of Mars tends to be reddish because of the oxide of iron in the dust, that's right. However, the dust in the "blast zone" of the crater seems bluish in comparison, indicating something new and … that had an impact.